A Survivor’s Life in the Dungeon (Danmachi fanfic)

*Shakti PoV*

I got out of the tent to get some fresh air, the situation inside is heavy, with the possibility of Riveria theory being debated inside.

With that in mind I made my way towards my tent, hoping that a good night sleep might get my mind off those things.

As I made my way I saw a boy wandering around, it was August, he was walking aimlessly outside the medical ward, how in the hell did he get out?

"August!" I called him, yet It seems that he didn't hear me, I walked towards him and got a good look at his face.

Anguish, deep deep sadness, and guilt, emotions you can clearly see in his face, I don't know where he's going but I'll follow him afraid that he might do something stupid.

I got close to him and put my hand in his head, he stopped only momentarily, he turned his head and looked at me, his eyes bloodshot from crying, black and heavy eyebags from the stress he is feeling. 

"Kid..." I tried opening up a conversation but realized that I don't know what to say to him, what can you say to a person, a child no less, who lost everything he ever held dear?

"Miss Shakti." he called me. 

"Where are you going August? it's the middle of the night. You need to rest. Come on we'll return to the medicine ward together." I urge him to return as I move my hand to hold his.

"Miss Shakti... I wanna go home." his words put me on pause, it hurts my heart, tears threatening to form in my eyes. 

"Can I go home?" his voice is devoid of any emotion, except for sadness, and a tinge of hope. Hope that everything will be fine once he gets to his safe place, his home.

"Ok August... let's take you home." I answer him as I let his little hand pull me, his little fragile hand, a hand of a child who experienced things that should never be experienced in this world.

No words were spoken as we walked in the ruins of his village, yet everything was so loud, his emotions, his feelings, it sent shivers down my spine, his steps so heavy, his stance so down.

We reach his house, the door is broken off its hinges, the inside dark, dried off stench of blood can be smelled as he made his way inside. 

"Mama, papa, I'm home." he called, it pains my heart, seeing him like this, still refusing to believe, still hoping that it was all a dream. 

No answer came but he still continued on moving forward. I got the urge to pull him out, to say that there's nothing here. But seeing his face, that sadness, the anguish, that guilt, I just can't bring myself to do it.

"Miss Shakti..." 

"Yes August?"

"They really are gone..." he said, as he looked at me, his eyes filled with tears, he was sobbing. The last tinge of hope vanishing from his eyes. 

"Oh August." I could stop myself, I knelt down to his level and hugged him. His crying becoming louder and louder. I can feel the pain, I can feel his emotions. Fuck it hurts seeing child go through all this.

"MAMA!!! PAPA!!!" he screams, all you can hear in the silence of the night is a cry of a boy who lost his family, a cry of pain, a cry of sadness, a cry of an unwilling survivor.

I hugged him tighter, my tears falling with him. I want to say that it was all gonna be ok, that everything will be fine. but the words won't come out of my mouth.

minutes passed, as we stayed hugging each other, his sobs slowing down, yet the hurt in him still remains. 

I pulled out of the hug in order to have a look at him, his face much like his father, a childish face, dark hazel eyes with sharp features, long straight amber hair. He is the spitting image of the Vanguard. A handsome young lad.

yet that handsome face of his is full of emotion, emotions no one should have. 

"August... shall we go back now?" I asked him, hoping for him to agree so that he may rest his body. 

"not yet miss... I wanna see their rooms."

"Ok August, let's go see their rooms." I stood up and offered my hand for him to hold, he took it, his hand cold to the touch, so little, so fragile.

He pulled me towards the room on the left, he then proceeded to slowly open the door and walked inside.

Inside the room are two beds, two cabinets at the side, with a chest in the middle of two beds.

"This is our room, me and my big brother Ludwig share this room." he said as his voice broke for a moment. Yet he held on. What a brave child. 

He let go of my hand, and walked slowly, and unsteadily towards the chest, he opened it and what's inside are wooden toys, carved out by a knife.

"Papa made these toys for us." he took the little horse made out of wood. he then continued to speak. "this was big brother's favorite." he sob. " he wanted to ride one, a big one someday." 

He then looked at the left side, there's a bag made of leather hanging by the door of the cabinet. He walked towards it and took it, poured the contents out with his little hands and put the toy horse inside.

He then moved towards the bed, he placed his hands on top, I watched it, knowing that in that moment he was saying his goodbye, his last goodbye to his brother. 

"I used to go to his side whenever there was a storm outside, he would lull me to sleep saying that the storm would pass." 

He took a deep breath and hugged the bed. As he got up, he spoke and said his last farewell. "Goodbye big brother."

He walked towards me, bringing the bag that he took along with the toy horse inside, as he did I looked at the room one last time, and my eyes landed on the bed. the mattress, tears can be seen staining it.

He pulled on my clothes and it snapped me out of my trance.

"Miss Shakti, let's go to my mama and papa's room." 

I nodded as he pulled me further inside the house, he stopped in front of the room, he then slowly opened it, inside was a bed, big enough for two people, and at the side, a crib.

seeing the crib filled my heart with anger, I remembered the severed leg I found earlier, near this place, and his story. an infant child, no older than 8 months, killed by the monster. A child who had a bright future ahead, who still has her life ahead of her. taken too soon.

My fist clenches hard, my nails penetrate my flesh as blood drips down. A question pops in my mind. Why? what can Evilus achieve by doing this.

*Step* His footsteps echoing in the silence of the night, as he made his way slowly inside the room. he reached the crib, his hands holding the railing. "Maya..." 

He placed his head in the railing, then his knees gave out. I rushed beside him, doing my best to gently support his little body. 

"She was our little princess." he said as he cried, "and I just stood there... I just stood there while they died in front of my eyes."

the guilt in his voice hurts my heart, if only we were faster, if only we've arrived sooner, we could have stopped this massacre. Riveria's voice echoed in my mind. 'we're not heroes, we can't save everyone.' I agree with her, but at this moment, I sure wish that for us to be a hero to save everyone.

"I'm sorry..." was all that I could say as I watched the little boy cry out his pain. I just kept on repeating those words over and over. He may not say it but I know deep down he blames us for arriving too late.

He stood up, as he made his way to the bed. "Mama, Papa..." he called out to his parents who were taken from him.

My eyes wandered inside the room, it was a comfortable place to rest, yet with the events that transpired, it was just depressing. My eyes caught a long object that was resting beside the closet of the room.

a long object that was wrapped inside a cloth, I made my way towards it, my steps heavy.

As I placed my hand on it, I could feel the magic emanating from it. inside the cloth is an aura of menacing proportion, screaming for blood... Screaming for revenge.

"Beowulf..." the spear of the Vanguard Siegfried Kaiser, the spear who slayed many monsters inside the dungeon, the Orichalcum spear enchanted with magic. The spear that Ganesha himself gave for the use of Siegfried. 

Beowulf is a weapon that bonds with its user, it grows with the user, as Sieg grows stronger so does the weapon. And with that bond, they have slaughtered monsters in their path at the dungeon.

Enchanted by blood magic, the weapon will only be loyal to those who it deems to be its master, it is a bond of blood, and no one can wield it except those who have the blood of its master.

The weapon can feel the death of its master, the death of its partner who grows with it. and the weapon seeks blood.

I look back at the boy, I can see a path, a dark path that he may take if ever the weapon comes to his hands. the sinister aura of the spear filling the room, it's suffocating, prickly to the skin. Yet August seems unaffected by it. 

it was natural, after all he has his father's blood running in his veins.

As I saw the boy, walking closer I tried grabbing the spear, hoping to hide it from him, but my hand felt pain. and the aura, the magic screamed at me, pushing me back. A level 4 adventurer like myself getting pushed back by a weapon sent shivers down my very soul. 

"August stay back!" I hurriedly pulled the boy farther from it. Frightened by the path that he may take if the weapon finds its way to him.

"it's ok..." he spoke softly. "I'm just gonna get some of my mama, and papa's stuff." he continued to walk towards the closet, near the weapon.

I tried stopping him, but my hand was pushed off, like a wall, it was cutting me off from him. I can't reach him.

he proceeded to open the closet, he then rummaged inside, his eyes concentrating, not minding or even looking at the weapon at all, his little hands moving non stop. 

He stops, he pulls a dress out of the closet. "This was my mama's favorite dress..." he said sadly as he hugged the one piece dress tightly in his hands, he then stuffed it inside the bag with the toy.

he continued to rummage inside, as he pulled out another piece of clothing, it was a shirt, white in color, he hugged it tightly. "Papa..."

the weapon vibrates, its aura increasing, yet this time it wasn't the menacing aura I felt earlier, this time it felt sad, like a child crying, longing, It fills the room with sadness. seeing the image in front of me fills my mind with the inevitability, that the weapon will find its way towards the child.

And stopping it is an impossibility.

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***

Hey guys, that's 4 chapters done.

Writing this chapter was so hard for me, I want to convey as much emotion in this chapter as I can and I hope I did a good job at that. 

well you can let The Man Candy aka me know if The Man Candy did a good job or not. hahaha. 

on a serious note this chapter really was hard to write, especially since I haven't experienced a loss as big as August did. so imagining the emotions he might feel is a challenge that's why I wrote it outside of his PoV because I can't fathom nor understand a loss of that magnitude. I imagine myself as Shakti, seeing a child going through that, and just started writing. I hope that I could convey the emotions of the character properly. 

thanks for picking this fanfic up. please leave a comment and feedback. 

good day, love y'all.